Harry Potter and the Arch of Hades
by Merusa
Summary: Discontinued due to Book 6. Sequel to Brethren of Ares. Harry not only sees the dead but the girls are being difficult, the DADA teacher is an idiot, the Headmaster grows weaker, and an enemy is insane. 7th year. Review!
1. Prologue: My Quill Is Put to Paper

**Harry Potter and the Arch of Hades**

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**By: Merusa**

**Rating: R, for language, violence, and crude humor**

**Sequel to Harry Potter and the Brethren of Ares**

**_Prologue: My Quill Is Put to Paper_**

Remus was absolutely exhausted. He'd never wanted less to do something the Headmaster asked him to do. But, he knew he had to do it, he knew that he didn't have a choice in the matter and that getting it all down on paper would help explicitly. He wished, however, that he had a better location to write at.

Remus completely despised Grimmauld Place. He hated it with a passion that he didn't know he possessed, more so, he was ashamed to admit to himself, that he hated Wormtail.

He loathed it because it had been his best friend's prison.

With a sigh, he lifted up his quill, dipped it into a fresh pot of ink, and began to write:

**In the Shadow of the Moon**

**_A Biography of James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin_**

**_Written by Remus Lupin_**

**_Semi-Autobiographical_**

Remus lifted the quill from the paper, and frowned thoughtfully. Reluctantly, slowly, he put the tip of the feather back to the paper, and allowed the words to flow.

** James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and myself- Remus Lupin. We were the Marauders, the mischief-makers at Hogwarts. These three men were the best friends anyone could wish for. From a young age, I've housed a terrible secret- one I'd managed to keep just that- a secret- for a long while. **

** While I was at Hogwarts and for a while afterward, I had friends- three great friends. James, Sirius, and Peter were my whole life; we grew up together.**

** Lily Evans was there, too. James was completely infatuated with her. I remember how miserable Lily was when she was pregnant- she hadn't known that Wizarding pregnancies are much longer then Muggle ones. But that, however, comes later. Right now, I'd like to focus on young Harry Potter. **

** Harry is the spitting image of James; except for one thing- he has Lily's eyes. Everyone has heard of Harry, of course, but not many people know him. I count myself among those lucky people, and am happy to say that while James and Lily live on through him, he is his own person. He hates his fame, which is blatantly obvious to anyone who spends extensive time in his company....**

* * *

Sirius stirred the water in the basin half-heartedly. His eyes drank in the image of Harry, sitting with his owl and writing a letter to someone, presumably Ron or Hermione. The young man folded his arms and laid his head upon them, obviously tired but unable to shake insomnia. Ever since Harry killed Bella and witnessed Percy's death, he'd been extremely depressed. Letters were the only things that ever cheered him up.

"Sirius? How is Harry doing?"

"Not so good, Lil."

"I wish he would stop sulking, it wasn't his fau-"

"Lily, Harry would blame Voldemort's first rise to power on himself if he could. Harry can be much too noble for his own good."

"I know."

"Also, I'm worried about Remus." Sirius reached and swirled the water again, revealing a close-up of Remus in his study. "Ever since it turned out that Adrienne is married, he hasn't been doing well."

"Tonks is there-"

"He doesn't see Tonks, Lily."

"Sirius..."

He groaned. "Sorry, Tiger Lily. I'm just worried."

She hugged him. "We all are, Padfoot. We all are."

* * *

_Dear Ginny,_

_ Yes, I'm quite worried about Harry. I know that you are as well. He isn't saying anything at all in his letters, and you know exactly how he'll be at school: he'll be making jokes and playing the hero. We all tried, in little ways last year, to get to him. It's not working; we're just not around him enough. Ron and I came up with an idea, actually. After You-Know-Who is defeated, perhaps the four of us can get a flat together. I know it isn't proper for two girls and two boys to be living together, but this would be for Harry, and you have another year of school left after this one, so it would only be for the summer. However, after you respond to this letter, there cannot be another mention of it, especially not to Harry. He has enough on his mind, we don't need him to worry about life after You-Know-Who as well._

_Tell Ron I said write back quickly._

_Love from Hermione_

* * *

Remus wiped the back of his hand across his forehead, and then resumed writing.

**I hope that you have not already disregarded this as the ramblings of a mad old man, for the story has just begun. **

* * *

**A/N: Welcome back, everyone! Here's the sequel. For those of you who are worried about the rating, don't- it's mostly a precaution. However, Harry and Ron are seventeen-year-old boys, and therefore do not have the cleanest mouths in the world. A quick note: if you have anything you really want answered in this story, please, leave it in a review. I'd like to see just how much you guys know!**

**Sincerely,**

**Merusa**


	2. Chapter 1: Nobody Loves You When You’re ...

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* * *

Harry Potter and the Arch of Hades**

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**_Chapter 1: Nobody Loves You When You're Seventeen_**

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THE DAILY PROPHET- July 1, 1997

_Is Peter Pettigrew alive?_

_Recent sighting of a wizard that supposedly bears a great resemblance to the deceased hero (murdered by one Sirius Black) are being reported to the Ministry of Magic, most especially from survivors of Death Eaters attacks/raids. The Ministry states these claims to be ludicrous, especially considering the state of said survivors after the horrors of such an experience...._

THE EVENING PROPHET- July 4, 1997

_Mysterious Order of the __Phoenix__ in jeopardy?_

_Reports say that Minister Fudge is furious with Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts headmaster and supposed head of the aforementioned Order. _

_"Well, really," says the Minister, "I'm grateful to the Order for what it's done, but Dumbledore is making a certain ridiculous claim. He says that a certain person is innocent, and really, it's quite stupid, but I can't say anymore...."_

_In other news, another sighting of Peter Pettigrew has been reported..._

WITCH WEEKLY- July 7, 1997

_Is the Boy-Who-Lived Insane?_

_"Naturally," says a St. Mungo's worker who wishes to remain anonymous, "Aren't all saviors a bit mad? Just look at Dumbledore. In Harry Potter's situation, it's completely natural to lose your mind, what with all he's been through. I highly doubt he'd hurt anyone, though- except for You-Know-Who, of course....."_

Letters to the Editors- July 14, 1997

_Dear _Witch Weekly_,_

_ You horrible people! How dare you accuse poor, innocent Harry of being mad! He's the most wonderful boy you'll meet, and he cares so much about all the people in this world. You have no idea what he has been through, don't you go accusing him of something again! It was bad enough when you cited Hermione Granger as his girlfriend; I can assure you that that is completely ridiculous; they're like brother and sister. If you write about that poor child ever again, I'll lodge a complaint with the Slander Office in the Ministry!_

_-Wicked Mother_

THE DAILY PROPHET- July 17, 1997

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**SIRIUS BLACK DEAD!**

_The Wizarding World rejoices! Word came out this morning that infamous murderer Sirius Black is, indeed, dead, but information as to how he came to this fate has yet to be released. Black was accused and found guilty of selling the Potters to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and orphaning the young Potter boy..._

THE AFTERNOON PROPHET- July 17, 1997

NEWS FLASH!

_Was Black innocent? A statement from the Order of the __Phoenix__ seems to say so. The Order claims to have evidence attesting to Black's innocence, proof stating that Peter Pettigrew is indeed alive and that Black died a hero's death. The Ministry has yet to comment officially, but anonymous Ministry workers seem to be of mixed opinion._

_"I went to school with Black, I did," says one fellow, "and 'e was the nicest bloke you could meet. 'S no way 'e really 'old the Potters to ol' You-Know-'Oo."_

_"Sirius Black, innocent? That is simply preposterous," another says, "and I am absolutely certain that any minute now the Minister will release a statement saying that it's all rubbish. He's supposed to be in a meeting with Dumbledore at the moment..."_

THE DAILY PROPHET- July 18, 1997

_No official released statement from the Ministry has gotten many people to wonder if Black was indeed innocent. The Minister's assistant undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge, says that the Minister and Dumbledore are still in a private meeting..._

_In other news, the __Edinburgh__ branch of Gringotts was raided in an attack by the Death Eaters. Rumors of numerous deaths have yet to be verified..._

THE DAILY PROPHET- July 19, 1997

_Protesters have begun to picket outside of the Ministry as the third day of silence rolls around. The goal of the protesters is to get the Minister to speak. As of this printing, the Minister was indeed still within a private meeting with Dumbledore..._

THE EVENING PROPHET- July 19, 1997

_Attack on Hogsmeade!_

_There was a large-scale Death Eater attack on Hogsmeade this afternoon, just after three o' clock. The Death Eaters streamed into the village and leveled and plundered everything, leaving nothing in their wake. Families of the injured and deceased have been sent owls regarding their loved ones. Further details pending._

THE DAILY PROPHET- July 23, 1997

**SIRIUS BLACK PROCLAIMED INNOCENT!**

_After a week-long meeting, Minister Cornelius Fudge and Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brain Dumbledore gave a joint press statement- the transcript is as following:_

_Minister Fudge: "After an exhaustive meeting in which the two of us went through photographs, detailed accounts, and witnesses' statements, among other things, we have come to a conclusion._

_Headmaster Dumbledore: "Sirius Black was indeed innocent."_

_Minister Fudge: "I hereby formerly strip one Peter Pettigrew of his Order of Merlin, First Class, and hereby declare him alive and in the service of the Dark Lord. He is to be considered armed and dangerous._

_Headmaster Dumbledore: "Also let it be noted that Pettigrew is an Animagi. He can turn into what looks like an ordinary garden rat with one silver paw._

_Minister Fudge: "Harry Potter is not to be pestered in any way with this information. The Boy-Who-Lived now has the right to owl the Ministry at any time in order to get rid of any reporters."_

_Headmaster: "Furthermore, Sirius Black is hereby formerly awarded an Order of Merlin, First Class, for a hero's death. He passed away fighting to protect Harry Potter."_

_Minister Fudge: "We ask that no one questions any of this. Thank you."_

_While delivering this speech, both the Minister and Dumbledore looked exhausted from their meeting._

_One cannot help but wonder- if Black was indeed innocent, then who else has been falsely accused?_

THE DAILY PROPHET- July 29, 1997

**_The Love Goddess's Corner- Aphrodite Waers_**

_In two days, July 31, it is the Boy-Who-Lived's seventeenth birthday. This section of the _Prophet_ hereby promises to bring to you an exclusive interview with the Boy-Who-Lived as soon as it is readily available...._

* * *

His Hogwarts letter had arrived a bit early this year. He tilted his head, considering it- his last Hogwarts letter. It was much thicker than usual, and there was an unusually-shaped lump in the envelope.

It couldn't be.

There was no way he had earned it. He certainly didn't have the highest grades. He got into trouble constantly, and he wasn't a Prefect- although, he supposed, that didn't really matter. His dad had gotten it, after all, and he supposedly had a pre-set day of the week for detention.

He supposed that he should open the letter.

He tossed it onto his bed.

That summer, Harry Potter hadn't really given a damn about much. He'd barely answered the letters from his friends and girlfriend. When Sirius had been proclaimed innocent, he had given a damn about that- but instead of firing off letters to his friends, he'd simply allowed Hedwig to go out hunting, shut his window, and looked through his photo album all day.

He turned and considered the envelope again. He didn't want to admit to himself that he really did care about what was inside of it. Crossing his room in two quick steps, he flipped over the envelope and broke the seal. Turning it over, he let the contents of the packet fall onto his bed. A letter and two small badges fell onto the fraying bedspread. Flopping down next to them, he reached out and grabbed the smaller of the two badges. With a deep swallow that made his Adam's apple bob up and down, he flipped it over.

It was shaped as a plain oval. The background of it was a deep Gryffindor scarlet. Carved into the metal was an elegant gold "Q"- the badge the Quidditch captain wore.

With a small whoop, Harry tossed the badge into the air and caught it happily. He'd made Quidditch captain! He made a mental note to thank McGonagall when he arrived at school.

Hands shaking slightly, he reached for the other badge. With trembling fingers, he slowly turned it over.

The words "Head Boy" glinted at him, the crimson lettering standing out sharply against the gold background.

He fell backwards onto the bed. He'd done it. He'd really done it.

The year beforehand, Harry had worked especially hard to keep his grades up. Despite the distractions of the prophecy and the Golden Apple, he had managed to study almost nightly. By the middle of the year, his grades had rivaled even Draco Malfoy's. By the end, they surpassed his.

Lifting up the badge, he moved it back and forth slowly, allowing the light to catch it.

A slow grin spread across his lips.

He pinned it on his shirt and darted into the hallway, then bounded down the stairwell and leapt over the last four steps. His grin widened at the sound of the Dursleys making lunch in the kitchen. They may not have been magical, but they knew what a "Head Boy" was.

The doorbell rang. Harry seized the badge and unpinned it quickly, stuffing it into his pocket. He knew that his Uncle Vernon did not want the neighbors to see that Harry had gotten Head Boy of any school- Harry normally wouldn't have cared, but Vernon's office had been suffering from a sharp decrease in sales, and the ill-tempered man had become more prone to throwing punches at Harry. As nimble as Harry was, he knew that he would suffer if his uncle ever landed a blow.

The bell rang again. Harry reached out and swung the door open.

The first thing Harry thought of was that the visitor was completely gorgeous.

After that, he wondered why in all the hells she was visiting the Dursleys' house.

The woman was wearing black robes that more looked like a dress then anything else- it had a sweetheart neckline, the sleeves were belled and slashed and came to just below her elbows, and the ragged hem fell a considerable height above her knees. Black fishnet tights clung to her toned legs, leading down to point-toed red dragon-skin boots. Her long blonde hair had messy layers that fell over her shoulders, the bottom layers dyed red, and her blue eyes were rimmed in black. A crocodile skin handbag swung from her wrist. Her hands were covered in black gloves, and a black witch's hat with a floppy brim shielded her face from the summer sun. Her wand was slung in a leather holster on her hip.

Harry stared.

"Hello," the woman purred, "I'm Aphrodite Waers."

Harry continued to stare. He noticed that she was considerably shorter then him- and that was saying something.

"I write 'The Love Goddess's Column' in _The Daily Prophet_. Before this summer, the column was in _Witch Weekly_."

Alarm bells were going off in Harry's mind. He struggled to clear the fog that had overtaken him with great difficulty.

Her neckline was very low....

Aphrodite cleared her throat.

Harry shook his head, hard. "Uhm, yes," he mumbled.

She tossed her hair. "I'm here to get an interview with you, Mr. Potter."

Harry mentally suppressed a groan. "No, thank you." He moved to close the door.

She put her hand on his arm. He froze, praying that she would not look down and thanking god that his shirt was long and loose.

"If you could do this for me, I could do something for you..." She let her sentence trail off suggestively. Her eyes flickered downward.

Harry swallowed with difficulty, feeling his Adam's apple bob up and down.

"I have a girlfriend," he said shortly. He brushed her hand off of his arm and pointedly put his hand on the doorframe.

She pouted. "That's no fun."

"Sorry." His face was quite red at that point, but his eyes were impassive. He continued to mentally pray that she would not look down again.

She smirked at him. "See you later." With a wink, she turned and sauntered down the sidewalk, allowing her hips to swing freely. Harry waited for her to Disapparate. Instead, she paused at the end of the walk, and turned back, her hand on her hip.

"I'd be careful if I were you, _Mister Potter_. I always get my scoop."

She winked again, playfully, then, with a twist of her wand, she was gone.

Quickly glancing around to make sure that no one had seen, Harry turned and calmly closed the door, the tips of his ears burning.

* * *

**A/N: That was very, very fun- making Harry squirm, that is.**

**Just so no one takes offence, I AM NOT STEREOTYPING BLONDES! I'm a blonde myself.**

**Cheers,**

**Merusa**


	3. Chapter 2: Seeing the Obvious

**Harry Potter and the Arch of Hades**

**By: Merusa**

**A/N: Many of you are quite right- how the hell did Harry get Head Boy?!?! We'll see when we get to Hogwarts...**

**_Chapter 2: Seeing the Obvious_**

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"Boy. Boy! Boy, wake up!"

Harry grunted and rolled over. He buried his face into his pillow.

"BOY! WAKE UP!"

Harry lifted his arm behind his back and made a very rude gesture with his fingers.

"How dare you!"

Harry felt the covers being pulled off. He flipped onto his back and sat up, groping for his glasses-

CRACK!

He gasped in pain as a huge fist nailed a punch in his right eye. He focused his left eye and made out the huge, blurry shape of his uncle.

"We're going out." Vernon turned and exited the room.

Petunia slipped into the room a moment later. She crept over to his bed. "Harry, there's a steak in the fridge. Use it for your eye." She paused. "By the way, congratulations on getting Head Boy. Your mother would have been proud of you." She stole out of the room.

Harry stared after her for a moment, almost regretfully.

A moment later, he scrambled out of bed and grabbed his glasses. He pushed them onto his face and stumbled downstairs, nearly running Dudley over. He heard the telltale signs of his uncle's car leaving the driveway, backfiring more than once, but ignored it. He stumbled further into the kitchen and over to the ice box, before pulling out a semi-thawed steak. He pulled off his glasses then slapped it over his eye and groaned, moving to lean against the counter.

"Hey, Potter!"

Of course- Dudley had to have picked that time to annoy Harry. Harry ignored him.

"Potter, look what I found. You'll be interested in this."

"Actually, Dudley, I really don't give a flying fuck."

Dudley chuckled. "Oh, I think that you should."

Harry pulled the steak off of his eye and swiped the juice away with his hand. He pushed his spectacles back on, blinking owlishly.

In his chubby hands, Dudley held the photograph album that Hagrid had given Harry in his first year.

Harry felt his stomach turn. "Where did you get that?" His eyes remained trained on Dudley's pudgy, clutching fingers.

"Where do you think, dumbass? Your bedroom! Hmm, I wonder what would happen if I...." He flipped the book open. Harry saw that it was the picture of Sirius and his parents on the wedding day. Dudley turned on the sink faucet.

Harry saw red.

Lunging forward, he grabbed his album and snapped it shut. Drawing back his fist, he punched Dudley across the face.

Dudley snarled. Harry quickly dropped the album safely on the table.

A moment later he felt himself being tackled to the ground. The two boys wrestled, Harry with some difficulty do in large part to Dudley's enormous size. Fists flying and knees jerking, Harry lost himself in the fray, until-

"HAROLD JAMES POTTER!"

Dudley pulled up. Harry took the opportunity buy kneeing Dudley sharply in the ground. Dudley fell over, gasping in pain.

Harry glanced up to see an impressed looking Ron and Ginny. Next to them stood Mrs. Weasley. Her eyes were narrowed – she was visibly furious.

Harry scrambled to his feet. "Uh, hello, Mrs. Weasley. You're looking lovely today."

"Harry," she began, in a quiet tone but nonetheless a very dangerous one, "I feel that you are a son to me, and that it is my duty to inform you of something- when we get to the Burrow."

Harry gulped.

Ginny and Ron walked over to him, grinning. Ron grabbed his hand, and there was much manly back-slapping. Ginny grabbed him in a quick hug.

Harry grabbed his album from the table, and made to walk out of the room with his friends, cowering slightly at Mrs. Weasley's look. A loud grunt from behind him made him pause and turn around.

"Potter..." Dudley was struggling to his feet. He stumbled slightly, and the house shook. "You'll pay for that. If you've hurt anything, my girlfriend will have your arse."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Dudley, you don't have a girlfriend. The last time you were on the telephone talking to her, I picked up the other phone, and heard you talking to yourself."

Dudley got red. "Well, it's not like you have a girlfriend, or proof of one."

Harry hesitated. Dudley had a point; he didn't have any proof of Padma.

One beat later, Harry felt an arm slip around his waist. He looked down to see Ginny, who winked at him before turning back to Dudley.

"Are you sure about that, Dud?" Ginny smiled sweetly. Harry, fighting laughter, wrapped his arm around her waist.

Dudley sneered. "Well, then, how much is he paying you?"

Harry's face contorted in anger. He let go of Ginny and punched Dudley across the face again. Dudley staggered.

"Come on," Harry said, "Let's get out of here."

They walked to the fireplace.

-----

A few minutes later, Harry stumbled into the Weasley kitchen, coughing heartily. He straightened.

"Oof!" he grunted as arms were suddenly tight around his waist. Bushy brown hair obscured his vision. Smiling slightly, Harry returned the hug.

"Hello, Hermione." The pretty brunette stepped back, grinning at him.

He looked around the room, having been the last to Floo there.

Ron and Ginny were sitting at the scrubbed wooden table. He hadn't realized how tired they had looked until then. Hermione sat back down and resumed picking at a piece of toast.

"Harold James Potter."

Gulping slightly, he turned to see Mrs. Weasley. She shook her spatula at him. "Dudley really deserved all that didn't he?"

Harry grinned. "He really did."

A moment later, he was engulfed in a motherly embrace. "Oh, Harry dear, I'm so sorry for yelling at you- it's just, sometimes I forget that you aren't one of my own sons, and that's what I do when I fight."

Without hesitation, Harry returned the hug. "It's alright, Mrs. Weasley. I shouldn't have done it." He closed his eyes for a moment. He loved it when Mrs. Weasley hugged him.

She let him go, swiping at her eyes. "Sit down, sit down, eat, you're too skinny!"

Harry slid into a chair at the table. He noticed that while he was ravenous, no one appeared to be sharing the sentiment.

Then, it hit him.

Percy.

He hadn't forgotten. There wasn't a chance of him forgetting that. But he hadn't known what to expect, either.

He cleared his throat slightly. "Gin, thank you for that back there."

She grinned, although it didn't completely meet her eyes. "It was no problem. I quite enjoyed it!"

Hermione looked confused. "Enjoyed what?"

"Harry beat Dudley up. Dudley insulted Harry. Ginny pretended to be Harry's girlfriend in order to insult Dudley back. It was funny." Ron had spoken in short, sharp sentences, looking down at his plate. Hermione looked up at him, seeming to be a little bit hurt.

Harry raised his eyebrows and looked at Ginny. She mouthed _Later _to him.

The silence resumed. Harry quietly took the plate Mrs. Weasley presented him with and began to eat hungrily.

A few minutes later, Mrs. Weasley broke the silence. "Well, I have some good news for you. As Arthur and I are going to a meeting tonight, you-" Harry interrupted. "You mean we can go?" Mrs. Weasley smiled gently at him. "Sorry, Harry, no. Arthur and I are spending the night, so you three can invite some friends to stay over. Fred and George are coming as well."

Ron cheered slightly. Harry was glad to see his friend looking a bit more cheerful.

"Don't get too excited. Fleur is coming over to chaperone."

Ron shrugged. "Still fun."

Ginny piped up. "Who can we invite?"

"Anyone, as long as they're decent, but there's four of you already, so let's say, three more?"

They all nodded.

"Well, Padma, obviously, for Harry," Hermione said, "and then how about Neville and Luna."

They all agreed that the list was fine.

-----

A little while later, outside, Harry caught Ginny by her elbow. "Ginny, what's the matter with Ron and Hermione?"

She pressed a finger to her lips and motioned him closer. Ron and Hermione were only a few feet away. She pushed up on her toes and whispered in his ear.

"They had a huge row, I don't know what about. It was a few days ago, and they've barely spoken since." She wobbled slightly. He grabbed her elbow again to hold her steady. "You don't have any idea what about?"

"Uhm, well," she blushed, "I heard two names."

"Whose?"

Her blushed deepened. "Viktor's."

"And?"

"Well...yours."

Harry frowned.

"It's not what you think, thought," she continued on, rushing, "I think that maybe Ron thinks that Hermione fancies you."

"What?" He shouted.

Ron and Hermione looked over.

Ginny shook her head, dropping to her feet. "Yeah, that's right," she continued loudly, "I think that Colin would make a damn good Chaser if he had the confidence!"

-----

Fleur entered the Burrow that night, a few minutes after the guests arrived. Shortly afterwards, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley departed for the meeting.

Fleur turned to them. "Okey," she said, "I shall be in Beell's room. There will be a Silencing Charm on zee door. I 'ave 'eard nothing and zeen nothing. You were puurfect angels. Good night."

She trounced up the stairs, leaving behind some very confused teenagers.

"But- but-" Hermione appeared to be in shock. "She c-can't just leave us here! We could do a-a-anything!"

Fred grinned. "Exactly, my dear."

Ginny was grinning. "I know what we can do." She hopped onto the counter and slid across it, before bending to fish around in a drawer.

"What?" Neville said blankly, "Have a group shag in the kitchen?"

Luna giggled.

Ron looked scandalized. "Neville...that'd be incestuous!"

Fred and George were making gagging faces.

Harry and Padma were staring at each other awkwardly, both of their faces bright red.

Ginny shook her head. "You're all idiots. Aha!" She pulled a normal deck of cards out of the drawer.

"Strip poker!"


	4. Chapter 3: Ante Up

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* * *

Harry Potter and the Brethren of Ares**

**By: Merusa**

**Keywords: Harry, Voldemort, Arch of Hades, Prophecy, Padma, Weasleys**

**Thoughts are indicated by italics- like **_this_**. If you don't agree with the way the game is played- sorry, it's the way I know.**

**_Chapter 3: Ante Up_**

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"Strip Poker!"

Ginny's exclamation was met with disbelieving stares and a loud gasp from Hermione.

"But- but- but- Ginny, we can't do that!" Hermione's eyes were opened wide. Her lower lip was quivering. She looked horrified.

Harry's stomach was churning. He really had no wish for anyone to see him naked. Well, perhaps Padma, in the right situation. Now that he was thinking about it, he wouldn't mind Ginny, either. Hermione or Luna wouldn't be too bad, actually-

_Okay, stopping now...._

He'd only heard vague reports of games of this sort from other, more daring members of his year. It had been introduced into the house back in fifth year by a seventh year that had spent the summer in America. Everyone had learned the rules- Fred and George had posted them on the House announcement board.

Neville was shaking slightly in his seat. He kept on sneaking glances at Luna. Fred and George were both grinning insanely, but avoided looking at Ron and Ginny. Ron was alternating looking at Hermione and his hands. Hermione was rocking back and forth in her seat slightly, muttering to herself. Ginny was shuffling the cards with some difficulty. Padma was helping her with the cards, avoiding looking at Harry. Luna looked dazed and confused. Harry was looking thoughtfully at the girls.

"Alright!" Ginny had finished with the cards. "Everybody ready?"

She dealt the cards quickly. "Okay, jokers wild, ante up!"

The group stared at her.

She rolled her eyes. "Betting. How about a sock?"

Ron grinned. Harry held back a snicker- Ron had a foot fetish.

They all tossed a sock into the center of the table.

Ginny nodded. "Okay, er, everyone say what they'll take off if they lose the hand. I'll take off my other sock."

Padma peered at her cards. "Sock."

Fred shook his head. "Trousers!"

George nodded. "Same."

Luna grinned. "Sock."

Ron was pale. "Sock."

Harry peered at his cards. With a grin, he proclaimed, "Shirt!"

Hermione was shaking slightly. "S-sock."

Neville was smiling softly. "Sock."

A round of discarding commenced. Once it was over, Ginny spoke once again.

"Okay, reveal. I've got a pair of threes." Ginny shook her head. "Damn."

Padma flipped over her cards. "Pair of Kings."

Fred tossed his out. "Ace high."

George. "Straight."

Luna. "Queen high."

Ron. "Flush."

Harry grinned cockily. "Four of a kind, aces."

Hermione sighed. "I hate card games- straight."

Neville was smiling softly. "Five of a kind."

His proclamation was met with disbelieving stares. He grinned. "Alright, take it off!"

The majority of the people around the table pulled off their socks without hesitation. Ron was beaming. Without hesitation, Fred stood up and pulled his trousers down, kicking them off. Rolling his eyes, George managed to pull his own off without even standing. Everyone turned to look at Harry.

They were going to watch? Fine with him. He grabbed his shirt by the hem and tugged it over his head, ignoring the catcalls and whistles. He rumpled his hair back into place and sat back down. He glanced up to see Ginny looking at him. A blush was flooding her cheeks. He felt his own face redden and he looked down at the table, ignoring Padma's odd glance.

Ginny shook herself slightly. "Okay, next hand."

Ron frowned at her. "Ginny, how do you know so much about this game?"

She smiled innocently. "No reason."

Harry held back a snicker. He had once attended a card game in which Ginny was a willing participant- it had just been regular poker, of course.

Until he left, that is.

The friends dove into another round, and another, and another- until they were all scantily clad.

Well, everyone except Neville.

Neville was still fully clothed. He had won every hand, and was currently looking modestly down at the table.

Fred and George, grumbling, grabbed their clothing and headed upstairs, leaving the teenagers alone.

Harry took a deep swig of butterbeer. Across the table, his girlfriend and his best friend's attractive sister were in nothing but their bras and knickers, unabashedly talking to each other. He took another swig.

Laughing and chatting, with the exception of Hermione, the friends quickly dressed. Harry looked up at just the wrong moment to see Padma still shirtless. He quickly looked down again.

_Snape in a dress, Snape in a dress, Snape in a dress!_

It did the trick. Sighing, Harry swigged more Butterbeer and glanced at the watch. He started. It was much later than he thought.

"Well, we'd better go to bed." Hermione grabbed Ginny's and Luna's arms and dragged them upstairs.

"I'll stay and clean up," Harry volunteered. "Me too," said Padma quickly.

Ron and Neville nodded and headed upstairs.

The couple stared at each other for a moment. After a few beats, Padma cleared her throat.

"You didn't write much."

Harry looked at the ground. "There wasn't much to say."

Padma swallowed. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too."

The silence took over again. It wasn't awkward, Harry decided, but it wasn't comfortable, either. He glanced up and studied his girlfriend, trying to discern what was going through her mind. He couldn't figure it out. She was different, somehow, that he knew. She seemed to steel herself for something, and looked up at him.

"Do you think that Ginny is pretty?"

Harry gulped. He was suddenly frightened.

"I- er- well, she is- uhm- she has red hair."

"Yeah, I noticed that."

Harry ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Honestly?"

"Honestly."

"Yes, she's pretty. But I'm with you."

For some reason, his answer seemed to annoy Padma. She huffed. "Never mind. Good-night, Harry."

She pecked him on the cheek, and he caught her arm.

"What do you want me to say?"

"Nothing, Harry, I just needed to check something-"

"What? What did you need to check?"

She was flustered. "Nothing, okay!"

"It is something!"

"It's nothing, Harry, let me go!"

He loosened his grip, but still held it. "Why can't you tell me?"

"I just needed to see something, Harry! Can't we leave it at that?"

"Do you trust me?"

Padma seemed stunned. "What?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you!"

"Then why do you want to know if I think another girl is pretty?"

Padma pulled her arm away. "To see if you'll be alright."

She ran up the stairs, and Harry didn't bother to go after her. He didn't understand, but he had a feeling that he would soon.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the slow update- and expect another one. I will be on vacation and computer-less for the next ten days. I promise that I'll update as soon as I get back.**

**Ron's foot fetish is in honor of a friend of mine with a foot fetish of his own.**

**Just a note: I realized that I never stated this, and that I need to. At one point in this story, there will by a slight crossover to the logic of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel universe. However, no knowledge of either show will be necessary.**

**Cheers, Merusa.**


	5. Chapter 4: Son

**Harry Potter and the Arch of Hades**

**By: Merusa**

_Chapter 4: Son_

Triumphantly, Harry and Ron apparated a few feet away from the start of the Burrow's wards. Marching, they made their way to the kitchen door and banged it open. Ginny, who stood at the counter preparing dinner, said nothing.

Ron scoffed. "Men are here."

Harry dropped to one knee. "Apparating men."

Ginny threw a loaf of bread at them. Harry caught it and pulled a piece off. "Thanks."

"So, I'm assuming you passed? I'm sorry Mum and Dad aren't home, Mum would be suffocating you two."

Ron smiled softly. "Like when Percy passed."

Ginny's eyes slid out of focus. Her mind must have left her. "Just like when Percy passed."

Harry let the siblings have a moment together, not saying anything.

Ginny resumed her meal preparations. "Where's Hermione?"

Ron grinned cheekily, and opened his mouth. Harry clamped a hand over it, and spoke for them. "She's on her way."

"What's keeping her?"

Harry moved to help Ginny. "Well, you do know how Hermione prefers Floo over all other modes of travel, because she hates heights?"

Ginny nodded.

"Well, Apparating isn't any different."

Ginny stopped chopping the pepper. "Bugger. She didn't pass?"

Ron cut in gleefully. "No. Since you can see the ground a little bit while Apparating, she panicked and landed in Singapore. Nearly splinched. She's retaking it- we weren't allowed to stay." His face became solemn. "Don't worry, I'll stop teasing when she gets here- but for now..." He danced around the kitchen happily.

A brown screech owl landed on the window sill. Ginny dodged Ron and offered a treat to the bird. She gently took the note off of its leg. The owl shifted from foot to foot, a clear sign that the letter warranted a response. Ginny unrolled the envelope and looked at it. "Harry, it's for you."

He took the envelope and flipped it over. The Hogwarts seal stared up at him. A grin crossed his face as he read it. He pulled another, still sealed enveloped and handed it to Ron.

Ron raised his eyebrows, but took the envelope and slid it open. A badge fell out. He caught it, wide eyed, and moved to read the letter.

Ginny looked to Harry for an explanation. He shook his head and mouthed the word "_Wait._"

Ron looked up, wide eyed. "We're sharing the captaincy."

Harry nodded. "I couldn't do all that work by myself, Ron. You're the quidditch expert."

Harry smiled as he felt Ron pull him into a bone-breaking hug.

A loud whooshing sound invaded the kitchen. Acting instinctively, Harry pushed Ron and Ginny onto the ground and pulled out his own wand.

"Calm down, Harry, it's me." Hermione appeared, clutching a rubber ducky, which must have been a portkey. She pushed her bushy hair out of her face, visibly irritated. The bath toy disappeared with a 'pop'.

Harry still had his wand trained on her even as Ron clambered to his feet. Ginny stood with oddly feline grace.

"Tell me something only Hermione would know."

She sighed, and fell into a chair. "In our fifth year, you or Ron thought that one of Jupiter's moons was covered in mice."

Harry let his wand arm relax. "Okay. How was the test?"

Hermione crossed her arms on the table and dropped her head onto them. She was shaking slightly.

"I didn't pass."

Harry and Ginny wisely remained silent, but it was Ron who made the decision to cross the room and wrap an arm around Hermione's shoulders.

Exchanging a glance, the female redhead and Boy-Who-Lived exchanged glances and left the room, giving the potential couple some time alone.

"Oh, here it is." Harry snatched the morning post from the table next to the window. Ginny rushed over to him as he pulled _The Daily Prophet_ from the pile. "Harry."

He looked over at her. "What?"

She looked down at the ground. "Never mind. Go ahead."

He raised his eyebrows at her, but nonetheless flipped over the newspaper. His eyes took in the headline.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" His voice was eerily calm and quiet. Ginny couldn't quite put a label on the look in his eyes.

"I didn't know how."

He nodded, slowly. Calmly, he let the paper fall to the floor, and walked to the stairs. As he descended them, Ginny watched. More than once, he swiped angrily at his eyes.

She left the newspaper on the floor. She didn't want to read it again.

THE DAILY PROPHET- August 20, 1997

_YOU-KNOW-WHO AND DEATH EATERS ATTACK ORPHANAGE_

_Authorities say that few children survived the vicious attack last night. Here's what the minister has to say..._

It was late that night- late enough, he knew, to ensure that Ron was in a deep enough sleep that he wouldn't wake, but early enough in the morning so that he would not be immersed in total darkness. He slid the strap of the already packed carpetbag over his shoulder and crept quietly out of the room. He moved easily over the many flights of staircases, but managed to stumble outside of Ginny's room. Praying that he hadn't roused Hermione, he scrambled back to his feet and down the final staircase. He was almost out. He paused, mentally thanking whatever deities there were that they hadn't been forced to stay at Grimmauld Place again. Harry knew it was only because the Burrow had been so thoroughly hidden and that the Order didn't want him snooping around, but he was still grateful. He looked up and around the room. It felt like the last time he would see it, so, for the first time, he really looked. The ashes in the brick fireplace, the worn, deep red rug, the old dilapidated coffee table with the scratched-up molding, the soft tweed couch, the huge denim chair. It was home to him. He'd miss it.

He turned back to the kitchen, able to see the door.

This was it.

He was going to seek out and face Voldemort.

Oddly enough, he'd never felt more calm. He knew what he felt, and this was right- he was going.

He looked around the room, nodded once, and walked towards the door.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

Mentally groaning, he turned to face the youngest Weasley. She stood, wand in hand, hands on her hips. He thought she looked cute in her nightdress, but wasn't about to admit that out loud. "No where, apparently."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Harry!"

He sighed. "I'm serious. I was just hungry. Couldn't sleep."

"Then why did you need a bag?"

He turned around and walked into the kitchen. "Go to bed, Ginny- oof!"

She tackled him. He was so surprised that her small weight managed to knock him over. "Ginny!"

"I'm not moving until you tell me what you're up to."

"Ginny, I could throw you off me very easily, you know."

"Yes, but if you throw me to your right, my head will hit the oven, and if you throw me to your left, I'll hit the wall." He could hear the smirk in her voice.

"What if I throw you over my head or into the living room?"

"Then I'll scream for Mum."

He shifted. She didn't move from on top of him. "Can you at least shift enough so I can turn over?"

She obliged. He moved so that he was lying on his back and she was straddling his stomach, her wand pointed at his chest.

"Harry, one wrong move and you'll be at the receiving end of a Bat-Bogey Hex- and the Ministry doesn't bother sending letters anymore, they can't tell who the magic is from. Now, tell me what you're doing fully dressed and about to leave the house at three in the morning."

He remained silent, stubbornly looking above her head and staring at the ceiling.

"Harry, I'll stay here until the morning, but I really don't fancy my mother or anyone else finding us here, as they may get the wrong idea."

He sighed. She had a point. "I was leaving."

"Why?"

"You know why. You saw that article today. I can't let stuff like that keep happening. They're finally making real moves."

He continued to carefully study the ceiling.

"Oh, Harry...but you don't have a spell to defeat him yet, do you?"

He didn't look down. He heard the sadness in her voice, and didn't want to deal with it.

"It doesn't matter. I'd find a way, even if it would take me down as well."

"Oh, Harry!" He was forced to look down when she leaned forward and threw her arms around his waist, burying her face in the crook of his neck. "You're so wonderful!"

Awkwardly, he placed his arms around her, feeling her tears against his skin. "Ginny, uh, it's ok..."

She sat up, sniffling, eyes red. She shoved her hair, now wild, out of her face. "No, it's not! Harry- you- you're so STUPID!"

Again, she hugged him. Realizing that he probably wasn't going to get away anytime soon, he returned it.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Ginny didn't even notice, but Harry looked up and saw Ron. Still visibly sleepy, he nonetheless was smirking.

"Ron." Harry said it quietly, but it was enough for Ginny to sit up and look at him, confused. He jerked his head toward Ron, and she turned. Her hand flew to her mouth. "Ron..."

Harry shook his head. "Ron, it's not what it looks like."

"Then what is my sister doing straddling you in the middle of the night, Harry?"

Harry was lost for an answer. Ginny turned and looked at him, visibly horrified.

That's when Ron made his move. "Mum!" he yelled "Ginny's a scarlet woman!"

They both froze. Harry knew he should be standing, but he was too scared. Surely, they would kick him out. He knew what it looked like. The Weasleys would see him taking advantage of their daughter and throw him out of the only home he'd ever had...

Molly and Arthur finally entered, both with messy clothing thrown haphazardly on. Hermione had crept carefully down the stairs on was hiding behind Ron, aware of the battle that was about to take place. Thankfully, the majority of the Weasley brothers were away from home. The adults took in the scene- Hermione behind Ron on the stairwell, Ginny and Harry scrambling to their feet from a distinctly sexual position.

Molly saw red. "What in Merlin's name is going on?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair. Ginny cleared her throat. They exchanged glances, both knowing that Harry did not want the rest of the family to know he had been leaving.

Ron broke the awkward silence. "I caught Harry and Ginny on a little midnight adventure."

"It wasn't what it looked like, Ron, and it's not midnight." Ginny snapped.

Surprisingly, it was Arthur who spoke, and not Molly. He made his way to Harry and towered over him, tall, imposing. The eerily calm look on his face was somehow much more frightening then his wife's screams.

"Harry, were you taking advantage of my daughter in my home," he said quietly, "not fifty feet away from my bedroom door?"

Harry shook his head, his gaze dropping to the floor. "No, sir."

"Look me in the eye."

With some effort, he looked up into the gaze of Arthur Weasley, and straightened slightly. He was telling the truth, after all. "No, sir. I would never take advantage of your daughter."

The rest of the room remained silent.

Arthur sized him up. The rest of those in the room remained silent. Apparently, he passed the test.

"Then what were you doing?"

Harry's gaze dropped again. "Talking."

"About what?"

"Harry." Ginny had stepped forward. He shook his head at her. He didn't need for her to cover for him.

"I was going to leave, sir. To fight Voldemort."

Molly and Hermione both gasped.

Arthur sized him up again before speaking. "You are not to leave this house."

Harry nodded his gaze back on the floor.

"Not ever. No Diagon Alley. No day trips. Until school, you are restricted to the house and the grounds."

Harry nodded, swallowing.

Arthur dropped a hand on his shoulder. Harry looked up in surprise. The older man's face had softened. "You're like a son to us, Harry. It's time we started treating you like it." A small smile appeared. "You're grounded."

Wordlessly, he took the hand away and walked back to his bedroom, sliding an arm around his wife's shoulders. Molly smiled softly at Harry before letting her husband lead her away.

Ron and Hermione turned and walked up the stairs, leaving the original two in silence.

Ginny walked slowly over to him. He tensed, expecting a slap. He was surprised, then, when she slid her arms around his neck and hid her face in his shoulder, but his arms were around her immediately.

"I thought he was going to kick me out." He choked out.

"Harry, if I didn't want to kill you, I would probably in love with you." She sounded close to tears.

He was shocked into silence. They stood there for a moment, rocking back and forth softly. Eventually, she pulled away.

"We care about you, Harry," she murmured, "don't forget that." She smiled, gently. "Good night."

She slipped away, wrapping her arms around herself, and ascended the stairs.

Harry paused, turning to look at the kitchen door one more time. Nodding to himself, he picked up his carpetbag, and went up the stairs to Ron's room.

He didn't notice when the door to Arthur and Molly's room finally closed.

_The Next Day_

Hermione tossed a bag of crisps at Harry. He caught it easily. "So, 'sister' mine," he said, making reference to a long standing joke between them, "what do you want to do now that you've volunteered to keep me company whilst our friends cavort about Diagon Alley?"

Hermione smiled gently. "How about a little heart-to-heart?"

Harry raised his eyebrows. "About how you want to shag Ron?"

"Harry!"

"What? It'd just be an innocent conversation....about your want of the shagging with Ron."

"HARRY!"

He laughed. "Relax, 'Mione."

"Don't call me 'Mione! You _know_ that I hate that, Harry James Potter!"

"Ooo, the middle name! You only said that because 'Mione' sounds like 'My own', which you want Ron to call you, since you want to shag him."

"HARRY! That's not funny. It's ludicrous, why would I want to shag Ron? We're- we're much too young for that!"

Harry snorted. "Hermione, we're legal! The age of consent of sixteen!"

"You're only saying that because-because you want to shag Ginny!" she crowed triumphantly.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I have a girlfriend, Hermione. Do you honestly think that I'd cheat on her?"

"No." But there was something she was hiding, he could tell.

He rolled his eyes. Women.

"I don't get any of it." He shook his head.

"What do you mean?" She pulled the bag of crisps open.

"Nothing. Something Padma said."

"You can't fool me, Harry. I know its something."

He scowled at her. "You know I hate it when people bug me about talking."

She touched his arm. "_Harry_."

He sighed. "Padma asked me if I thought Ginny was pretty."

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "You said no, right?"

He rolled his eyes again. "I told her that yes, Ginny's pretty, but that I'm with her, so it doesn't matter."

Hermione smiled softly. "Harry...that's so sweet."

"Thanks."

"Most boys wouldn't say that it didn't matter what other girls looked like."

Harry grinned sheepishly. "I didn't really say that, actually. I said Ginny was pretty, but I'm with Padma. Was that bad?"

Hermione frowned thoughtfully. "I don't know."

Harry blinked at her. "What, women don't always get other women?"

Hermione shrugged.

Harry groaned. "Gods, this year sucks already."

Hermione looked at him. "Enough for you to want to leave?"

He sighed. He had known that this was coming. "I don't want to talk about it, Hermione."

"Talk to me, Harry. Please. You didn't react at all to Sirius's death. You didn't react to Percy's. You and Padma are visibly having problems, and now this. Please, Harry, let me in. You're going to have a nervous breakdown."

He stared at her.

She sighed. "One day, Harry, you'll talk to someone. You'll have too...."


	6. Chapter 5: Prediction Again

**Harry Potter and the Arch of Hades**

**By: Merusa**

**_Chapter 5: Prediction Again_**

****

**"Oh, but I didn't. And I still don't have to." Ginny pushed the ring over the tip of one gloved finger and held up her hand as if she planned to wield its power. **

**Malfoy gave her a fleeting look that was half plea, half murder.**

**-After the End by Arabella and Zsenya, found at the Sugarquill**

****

"Minnie, Severus- I wish to speak with you."

Albus Dumbledore did not have much time. That evening, the students were arriving, and he'd planned to have his two closest confidents in the loop of the knowledge that had presented itself to him at the end of last term.

Unfortunately, his memory had been slipping, and he'd only remembered to tell them that day.

Without hesitation, the two professors stood from their midday meal and exited the Great Hall. Severus gripped Minerva's elbow immediately. Even with her walking stick, Minerva McGonagall found herself leaning heavily on the Potions master for support.

The three friends made their way out of the Great Hall and to the Headmaster's office. Albus murmured the password to the gargoyle. As it scampered out of the way, it sent concerned looks at the headmaster and headmistress. Severus scowled fiercely at it, and it returned to its original state. They stepped carefully onto the moving staircase without words, Severus supporting both of them, although none of them would admit it. They arrived at the door, Albus stepping forward. He drew a long finger down the heavy wooden door, imitating the goblins at Gringotts. It shivered, and opened wide.

The three of them stepped inside and mostly collapsed into their habitual places: Albus in his large chair, Severus in the straight-backed seat that faced Albus from across the desk, and Minerva on the soft couch, her bad leg stretched out across the cushions.

She sighed as she sank into the couch. "That's much better. Albus, what did you wish to speak to us about?"

Severus raised his eyebrows at his mentor. After a quick nod of confirmation, Severus crossed the room to the liquor cabinet and grabbed shot glasses and brandy. He placed a shot glass in from of each of them, and filled them up. Minerva smiled slightly. It was tradition, after all.

"Albus..." Severus said carefully, "This wouldn't have anything to do with our- ahh- little problem in the Hospital Wing?" He sneered. The mention of it never failed to make him feel like a failure.

Albus shook his head. "Actually, it's something I've been meaning to tell you since the end of last term. However, it's rather slipped my mind. Unfortunately, it's rather important...I'm rather disappointed in myself that I've forgotten to tell you."

Severus grabbed his shot glass and drank it in one swallow. He filled it back up. "Go ahead."

The headmaster withdrew a piece of paper from his desk. He cleared his throat and read the familiar words aloud:

_"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord is here._

_That power lies in the demise of a girl._

_She will face her death with little or no fear,_

_At the time when the snow may fall,_

_In a darkened place where the evil would unfurl,_

_And people go when they are called._

_And though there will be one who will try,_

_The one who loves the Boy-Who-Lived must die."_

He reached for his own glass and took a sip. Minerva downed hers.

Severus was sneering again. "Another prophecy about Potter?"

Albus nodded. "Given by Parvati Patil in the presence of her sister Padma and myself. However, Parvati is a Messenger, not a Seer."

They both nodded. "Potter's girlfriend heard it?" Severus asked.

Albus nodded back. "Yes. Naturally, she assumed that it was about her."

Minerva sighed. "Naturally. But it could be someone else?"

Severus gave a harsh laugh. "We all know who the other option is."

Minerva straightened. "I'm not going to sit back and let Miss Granger die!"

The two men stared at her.

"What? Isn't it obvious how they care for each other?"

Severus shook his head. "No. However, it is obvious that there is something between her and _Weasley_."

Minerva shook her head. "I just don't see it."

Albus smiled gently at her, before focusing his attention once more on the piece of paper. "It can't hurt to protect all three of them."

"Who is the third girl?"

Severus and Albus ignored her. "Well, Patil's probably the most urgent, and Granger the least..."

Minerva grabbed the bottle of brandy and poured herself a full glass. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

The train ride to school was oddly uneventful. Draco Malfoy was no where to be found. Harry found himself spending time with Hermione and Ron, making the rounds as Head Boy, Head Girl, and Prefect. Ginny would normally have been with them, but since the night Harry had tried to leave the Burrow, there was an awkwardness between the two of them that Harry didn't want to identify. She had chosen to ride with Dean, whom she was still dating, Neville, and Luna. Things had been very rocky between Padma and him, and she had chosen to ride with some Ravenclaws.

Because of the uniqueness of the journey, Harry found himself uneasy when they got off on the platform. It had been enjoyable enough, of course- it seemed like the three of them hadn't been just the three of them for a very long time- but Harry was so used to good things going sour that he almost expected them to.

It was that worry's fault that Harry's heart was heavy when they passed the Thestrals and hopped into the carriages. Hermione was shivering uncontrollably, and Harry finally understood why. Since the end of his fifth year and Sirius's death, she could see the thestrals as well. Harry had been so wrapped up in his grief the year before that he hadn't even noticed. Ron hadn't been in the room at the time, and so was unaware.

It appeared that Harry's fears were unfounded. They arrived at the school without incident, and Harry felt considerably better when they sat down at Gryffindor's table in the Great Hall, chattering about everything and nothing.

The Sorting Hat repeated the same song it sang at the beginning of his fifth year, warning the school about division and telling that unity was the only way. The shocked silence from the first years drove home the point that while the Ministry acknowledged Lord Voldemort's return, it prevented the true horrors of war from hitting the newspapers. Harry shook his head. They'd find out soon enough.

The sorting passed by quickly, as the number of first years had lessened. No one was surprised; many people were beginning to believe home schooling was the safest route.

When Dumbledore stood, Harry's alarm reigned anew. The headmaster, while visibly an elder, had never before appeared to be weak. But now, before his eyes, the wise man was...old. His back was stooping slightly, his hands were shaking, and he appeared to be leaning against the staff table for support. It was only his eyes that looked young; they retained the sparkle and excitement of a youth discovering something new, they twinkled honestly at all the students as he viewed them, beaming, looking ready to burst from happiness.

"Welcome. Welcome to another year at Hogwarts." His face shone. "Though our numbers may have diminished slightly, we are all still here. We can enjoy each others company now." He smiled, softly this time. "I hope you will all do your most to make this year wonderful." He paused. "You all know of the war....but you all know that you are safe here. Do not hesitate to speak to any of the Prefects or the Head Boy and Head Girl-"

He paused as Ron grabbed Hermione and Harrys' hands and held them in the air, grinning triumphantly and jerking his head towards their badges "-yes, Mr. Potter and Miss Granger are Head Boy and Girl. Thank you, Mr. Weasley." He chuckled. "Also, do not hesitate to speak with any of the professors, no matter what your house is-" At this Snape paled slightly "-or indeed, speak to myself. We are all here for each other." He surveyed the hall, and Harry had a feeling that the Headmaster was looking through all of them. "Since it appears that you are all quite famished from the train ride, I'll finish up. No students are to enter the Forbidden Forest under any circumstances." His beard twitched. "Although it seems that _that _rule is less enforced every year." The trio exchanged looks filled with laughter. "Also, I'd like to welcome the new Defense teacher- Miss Kyree Seymour!"

There was scattered, polite applause. The woman stood up. She was built like Mrs. Weasley- tiny, but with curves. She had brown hair and brown eyes, and, while not spectacularly beautiful, was pretty in a quiet way. She waved jovially and took her seat.

Harry frowned. There was something familiar about her.

Dumbledore's voice boomed out again. "I've kept you waiting long enough. Tuck in, all!" He sat back down slowly, gripping his chair arms all the while.

"That was odd," commented Hermione, "Professor Dumbledore always waits for after the feast to speak."

Ron swallowed a huge mouthful of chicken. "He isn't looking too good, either. Taking the strain, I suppose."

Harry nodded, frowning. "Does that new teacher look familiar to either of you?"

They shook their heads.

Harry looked around the hall. His eyes settled on the Slytherin table. "And where's Malfoy?"

* * *

At the end of the feast, Harry was most surprised, after Dumbledore's dismissal, to hear the Headmaster summon Harry, Ron, and Hermione to the front. They exchanged curious glances and left the first years in the hands of the sixth year Prefects, before going up to the front. When they arrived, Dumbledore smiled at them. "Once the Great Hall is empty, Professor McGonagall and I have something to show the three of you. It was agreed that the Head Boy and Head Girl should be made known of a certain- ah- situation. Of course, we knew the two of you would tell Mr. Weasley immediately, so we summoned you as well, Ron." He surveyed the Hall. Once satisfied that it was empty, he motioned for them to follow him. Harry noticed how pale McGonagall was, and that she held her walking stick in an iron grip. The group walked out of the Great Hall and took a turn that Harry knew would take them to the Hospital Wing. Hermione and Ron both sent him quizzical looks, but he only shrugged in return, as he was just as unaware as they were.

They were shocked, however, when they arrived at the Hospital Wing and heard distinct screaming. Dumbledore turned to them. "It is better that you see this now, when we're here to show it to you. You've seen worse, and you'll see worse. You'll hear rumors. However, he's been demanding to see you, Harry, and we think he won't settle down until he does."

Harry's confusion peaked. He didn't have much time to think, nonetheless, because that was when the door opened, causing the screaming to get louder and revealing a frazzled looking Madame Pomfrey. She was shaking. "Oh, Albus, thank god!" The trio stared in shock as the normally composed nurse threw herself at the Headmaster, who caught her. She shook her head. "Albus, there's got to be a way-"

He shook his head. "St. Mungo's isn't safe. That's the way it is."

He motioned to the trio with his head and walked into the room. McGonagall followed after them, wincing at the shrieks.

Ron grabbed Hermione's hand. "No point in waiting." He muttered. He walked into the room, tugging Hermione after him. Harry followed.

What he saw would haunt him for the rest of his life. His schoolboy enemy, the boy who he'd fought with, the boy whose strength and sneer never wavered even when his courage did, now sat trembling on a hospital bed, hair messy, eyes wide and frightened, and screaming his head off and babbling nonsensically.

Draco Malfoy was insane.

* * *

**Review Responses**

**Intercedo**** Circu- grin I can't wait to here what you think of this one.**

**Greek Mione- Yes! You will come back to H/G! Abandon the Pumpkin Pie and bask in the ****Orange**** Crush!**

**From Chapter 4:**

**Greek Mione- No story is complete without a foot fetish, as we know to well. Thank god Ron's decent, though, otherwise we would have had a problem of hedgehog-like proportions....and then I would have had to delete the story. Uh-oh! That was close!**

**Intercedu**** Circu- I need the good luck x.X I've been having awful writer's block...**

**From Chapter 3:**

**Phoenixpadfoot89- It's so good to hear from you! Note: In this story, Singing!Harry WILL have an appearance!**

**Phillip- Yes, I have a dirty, dirty mind. You ain't seen nothin' yet.**

**Bluetiger94- Yes, Strip Poker is quite the worthy pastime!**

**From Chapter 2:**

**Intercedu**** Circu- This chapter should have helped out with the Head Boy confusion.**

**PhoenixPadfoot89- Yes, Miss Aphrodite Waers is sticking around for a while. There's more to her than meets the eye.**

**Twilight Moon- Naturally, Harry would be attracted to a pretty woman, but the uniqueness of Harry is that he resists without thought. Don't you just want to tackle-hug him? **

**From Chapter 1:**

**Twilight Moon- Yes, 17 year-old mouths aren't that clean. Especially Ron's. Oh, this is going to be fun!**

**Elementcontroller****- Yes, Bill has the long hair. However, we really know next to nothing about Charlie's appearance, and I decided that long hair would work for him, too. However, it's not nearly as long as Bill's.**

**Intercedu**** Circu- I'll start updating more often when your new story comes out!**

**Bluetiger94- I don't like Hilary Duff much. Her acting is good, but her songs all sound the same to me. That new one (Fly) is pretty good, though.**

**Niftysweet****- Thank you! ;**

**We Hate Piggiears20- Thanks for the warning, I'll keep an eye out. In turn- watch out for Borg. He's horrible as well, and he doesn't even have the courage to link to his own stories- if he writes them.**

**I'm baaaaaaaaack!**

**-Merusa**


	7. Chapter 6: Dreamwalking

**Harry Potter and the Arch of Hades**

**By: Merusa**

**_Chapter 6: Dreamwalking_**

Draco Malfoy was insane.

Harry's breath caught in his throat when he began to understand what Malfoy was saying.

"Get me Harry, GET ME HARRY!" Draco was pushing up against nothing- Harry realized that there had to be an invisible barrier around the boy. Harry immediately started forward, ignoring protests.

"I'm here, Draco."

Draco's eyes focused on a section of wall a few feet from Harry's head. His blonde hair was tangled and matted, he looked malnourished and even paler than usual and, with a start, Harry realized that there were purple scars crisscrossing over the exposed skin of the boy.

"Harry?"

For the first time, Harry pitied his old enemy.

"What is it, Draco?"

The rest of the group stood back, allowing the exchange to happen.

"Harry, its coming! It'll be here soon!" Draco pointed at Dumbledore. "You'll think that it was fulfilled- but it won't be! Two will die! Two! And there's nothing you can do to stop it!" His eyes slid out of focus, and he fell to the floor, once again screaming wordlessly. He curled up into a ball. Harry was unable to tell if the boy was in pain or not.

"Poppy, put him down. Now." Harry turned, surprised, at the sound of the Headmaster's voice. It sounded harsh and unforgiving, and Harry couldn't read the expression on Dumbledore's face.

Harry watched as Madame Pomfrey moved and began waving her wand over Malfoy's prone form. One of the first things she cast was a Silencing charm, and once Draco's screams were quieted, Harry rounded on the Headmaster.

"What happened to him?"

Dumbledore stared Harry straight in the eye. "He was tortured by the Cruciatus," he said softly, "for passing information to the Order. His own father used the spell on him until he was insane." He paused, and then continued. "He would not rest until he spoke with you, Harry. Perhaps now, he can get some peace." Wordlessly, he opened the door and beckoned them all out. The trio walked out in silence, and started down the hallway.

Harry wondered at it. Draco had been one of the good guys. He wasn't sure what to make of it. It had all been an act, he realized, Draco's teasing. He wondered for how long.

He realized with a start that last year, when Draco had questioned him about the Prophecy, he was just doing his job...and Harry had beaten him up. He felt a slight lurch of guilt when his mind inevitably flowed over to the image of the tortured boy in the Hospital Wing.

Hermione stopped. "Harry, we have to do rounds. Head duties."

Harry nodded. "Right."

Ron looked back and forth between them. "I don't like you two walking around this castle by yourselves."

Harry shook his head. "Go with Hermione, then, I'm fine on my own." The look he gave them left no room for argument. His two friends nodded and set off in the opposite direction. He kept walking.

By the time he reached the bowels of the castle, his mind was carefully blank. He was very good at doing that, he had discovered. After making the decision to lock away painful emotions at the beginning of his sixth year, he had became rather good at it. He knew he would explode one day....but that day was too far off to worry about.

He saw a glimpse of black robe, trimmed in yellow, swirling around the corner. A Hufflepuff. Adjusting his Head Boy badge so that it could not be missed, he briskly turned the corner. It was a boy, a very tall one. "Excuse me."

The boy turned and Harry's breath caught in his throat when green eyes met grey.

It was Cedric. Not ghost Cedric, but real, solid, living, breathing, smiling Cedric.

"Hello, Harry," said the boy sadly.

Harry blinked, and Cedric was gone.

Harry started. He pulled out his wand and turned in a circle. It was a mostly unused hallway; there were no classrooms or other rooms in it.

He was alone.

He told himself that he had dreamed it. However, he was unable to shake the uneasy feeling that someone else was there, and he headed quickly back to Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

"Holy Crap!"

"Sirius, language."

Sirius rolled his eyes at Lily. "I didn't swear, Lils." He shuddered when he saw that Lily was sitting on James' lap again.

James shook his head. "That was freaky."

Percy was looking at the basin, uncomfortable. "I'm never going to get used to this." He waved his hand over the water, and Sirius could tell by the small smile that blossomed on his face that while they still saw Harry, he was watching his wife and children sleep.

"Uhm, excuse me?" Sirius, Lily, and James turned to see Cedric Diggory. Lily smiled. "Hello, Cedric."

Cedric looked surprised. "You know who I am?"

Lily nodded. "Of course. We've seen you with Harry," she motioned to the basin, "and you know things when you're dead. Here, have a seat."

Cedric nodded and appeared to sit down on thin air, but actually was resting on a chair that appeared from nowhere. "Could I see the basin?"

James nodded. "Go ahead. Don't worry, you won't disturb what we see. As a matter of fact, we shouldn't be able to interact like this- but I suppose it's because we're linked by the same group of people...."

Cedric leaned forward and passed his hand over the water. "Cho," he murmured, so softly that the rest of the group barely heard it. His eyes immediately became fixed on something, and he smiled a small smile.

Lily leaned back against James. She leaned forward again, however, quickly. "Oh my....Percy, you should see this, it's your sister as well."

The whole group, now including Cedric, saw what Lily saw.

Sirius paled. "So, it begins," he muttered.

* * *

"Harry!" Harry smiled as Ginny caught up with him. It was days after The Incident, as Harry had labeled his first night of rounds, and he had all but forgotten it. "Hey, Ginny, where are you headed to?"

She smiled back. "I'm meeting Dean. You?"

"Padma. Where you meeting him?"

"That empty room across from the statue of Morgan Le Fay."

Harry stopped dead in his tracks. He gave her an odd look. "That's where I'm meeting Padma."

She shrugged, and kept walking. "Maybe they want to plan a double date?"

Harry suppressed a groan. _Not like that'd be the mother of all awkward situations, or anything....._

Some discomfited moments later, they arrived at the room. When Harry saw Ginny reach for the doorknob, he felt an unexplainable thrill of foreboding- but he was unable to stop her, and she opened it and stepped fully into the room.

When he saw the look of abject horror on her face, his first instinct was to go to her. He moved forward and touched her shoulder. "Gin?"

He turned and looked at the rest of the room.

Padma and Dean were kissing. No, they were more than kissing- from the look of it, they were about to christen the classroom.

Harry felt a sort of hot, swooping anger he'd never quite experienced. Sure, they'd been having problems, but Padma had no right to be kissing another man.

"Padma!" he said sharply. She pulled away from Dean and saw him. "Harry! I can explain-"

"Yeah, go ahead," he interrupted, "explain to me why Ginny and I just found the people we're dating snogging each other after both being invited into the room! Explain to me why you're sucking face with my former roommate! And, while you're at it, explain why; if you were in love with another guy, you couldn't just break it off with me?"

Padma gaped at him for a moment. Harry locked eyes with her, and waited.

"Dean...."

Harry suddenly remembered that Ginny was there. He looked over his shoulder at her, and felt his heart drop.

Her face was impassive, but her eyes were overflowing with emotion....the chocolate color had darkened with her anger, and stubborn tears were brimming along her lashes. She looked like she didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or hit something, and she seemed unable to decide.

"Dean..." she said again. He was looking at her, at a loss for words. She grabbed her wand and pointed it at him shakily. Harry held his breath. Something passed over her face, and she fled the room. With a last glare at Padma, Harry followed her. "Ginny!"

* * *

Padma took a deep breath. "Oh, he's going to hate me....he hates me....I shouldn't have done that...."

Dean walked over to her. "Remember, Padma, you had to do it."

She nodded. "Right, I had to do it. Because I'm going to die, and Harry would feel like he couldn't date if we were dating when I died."

Dean nodded back. "Right. Because...."

"...he's so noble. And this way, he'll pity me so much that I'll still be a fond memory to him."

"...And he'll pity you because you weren't strong enough to just break it off."

Padma nodded. "I'm going to Hell. I cheated, and I dragged you into it and made you cheat too-"

Dean pulled her into a hug. "Shh. When you asked me for help, Ginny and I were still broken up. We just got back together."

"But-"

"No. I'm not letting you go to hell. I promise."

She relaxed in his arms. She didn't think about how good it felt- that would have made things even worse.

* * *

Harry finally caught up with Ginny a ways away from that room. She was standing in the Astronomy Tower, leaning against the balcony. Her hair was blowing around softly, and she looked very vulnerable.

Harry didn't know what made him do it, but he came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. She stiffened for a moment, but leaned back against him, breathing in deeply and laying her hands over his. It was a very intimate position, and he'd never held anyone like that before, not even Padma- but it felt so right that he didn't dare let go.

She turned her head slightly and laid it on his shoulder. Harry felt a slight wetness that must have meant she was crying. She was silent, though, and Harry never would have guessed that she was happy.

They stood there for a long time.

When Harry arrived back at the dorm, it was nighttime. Wordlessly, Harry and Ginny separated.

Harry had never been more grateful for Head Boy rooms when he passed by the regular staircases.

"Harry." He stopped in his tracks. He turned to see Dean.

"Thomas, I don't want to talk to you." He made to turn again.

"Harry-"

"Dean, you stole my girlfriend!" He glared at his former roommate.

The common room fell silent.

Harry turned and headed up the stairs.

* * *

**A/N: Review Responses next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 7: The Shadow

**Harry Potter and the Arch of Hades**

**By: Merusa**

**_Chapter 7: The Shadow_**

****

Harry Potter was tired.

Exhausted, in fact, to the point where he wished he could just fall into bed.

Being Head Boy, Harry had quickly discovered, was oftentimes miserable work.

For example, the patrols at midnight after a day of N.E.W.T.'s preparation.

Harry knew what he wanted to do with his life, and it only really involved good marks in one subject- not mentioning the fact that with his own small personal fortune, along with the money Sirius had left him, he actually had no need to pass.

Hermione had other ideas, and decided that Harry and Ron should follow those ideas meticulously, under threat of bodily damage.

Harry made a mental note to never cross Hermione.

It didn't help that the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was....less than competent. As a matter of fact, she was a complete and utter idiot. After nearly a month, Harry had expected her to pull out something wonderful, but she proved to be, at best, a mediocre teacher. He wondered what Dumbledore had been thinking this time.

It was with these random thoughts that Harry walked the corridors somewhat worriedly. It had been some time since The Incident, but Harry was still wary.

Lost in thought, eyes toward the ground, Harry focused on nothing and everything.

He didn't notice that something had brushed against one of his legs until a few moments afterwards.

He looked up abruptly, and stopped in his tracks.

He was looking into the eyes of his godfather.

Sirius was standing in front of him. Harry watched in shock as Sirius smiled gently lifted his arm up, revealing that the Golden Apple sat in his hand.

"Do you know what to do, Harry?"

Harry blinked, and Sirius was gone.

He stumbled and felt his back hit the wall. He gasped for breath, his eyes trained on the spot Sirius had been standing in a moment beforehand.

_You dozed off, _he told himself, _and you just dreamed it._

He stumbled back to the Head Boy rooms in a daze.

* * *

**That's it for now, and here's why.**

**I'm practically getting zero feedback from you guys. I take hours out of my week to write this story. Can't you guys take a minute to type a few sentences? I don't care if it's selfish; I'm not going to write if you're not going to review. Even if you don't like the story or the chapter, I'd still really appreciate the comments. I'm not asking much of you guys. I know I don't update consistently and I don't always respond to chapters. I can't always find the time to read the stories that you guys write. **

**However, I'm trying.**

**If you have a really busy schedule and can find no time to review, that's one thing. But if you have a few minutes left on your computer, why not make someone's day a little brighter?**

**I'm not going to post if you're not going to review.**

**Thanks to Greek Mione and pumpkinfrankie for reviewing.**

**Notes to pumpkinfrankie: No, Draco isn't going to end up with Harry. There's very little slash in this story, and it doesn't play a very large part. Dumbledore's just...old. A lot of people write him as superhuman, but he's not. He ages like everyone else. However, he does have some surprises in him yet. Thank you for everything you said, it really meant a lot to me. Thanks for the promise, as well.**

_"Punished, we were! Disproportionate to our crime!"_

_-Captain Barbossa, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl_

****

**Merusa**


	9. Chapter 7 and Three Quarters: The Dream

**Harry Potter and the Arch of Hades**

**By: Merusa**

**_Chapter 7 3/4: The Dream_**

(quick A/N: this picks up right where the first part left off. Review responses and excessive groveling can be found at the end of the story.)

By the time Harry had stumbled into his room, he was nearly dead on his feet. Without bothering to remove his robes, he fell into bed, and slipped into the darkness.....

_Harry's Dream_

_Before him stood the Arch, but there was something different about it. He couldn't put his finger on it. After a few moments of quiet study, it hit him. The Arch, normally imposing, seemed almost friendly....almost inviting. Without making a conscious decision, Harry walked slowly toward the softly swaying curtain, reaching toward the comfortable warmth it could provide..._

_Abruptly, he found himself standing in the Entrance Hall. Ginny was leaning against the doors to the Great Hall, smiling at him. Something unidentifiable was resting in her fisted hand. He smiled softly and strode up to her. "Hey, Gin."_

_She continued smiling, but it looked empty. "Hello, Harry." _

_It was then that Harry noticed what she held in her hand. It was a muggle yo-yo. She tied the string around her finger, and began to play with it. _

_Harry's eyes watched its progress- up, down, up, down. "Where did you get that?"_

_She didn't answer. _

_Up, down, up, down._

_Watching it move unsettled him for some reason, and so he swept his gaze up onto her face again. The empty smile was fixed firmly on her face. He looked into her eyes, and his stomach lurched._

_Her eyes were filled with fright._

_"We've got some...unique people walking around today." The smile remained fixed, but her eyes were urgent. She was trying to tell him something._

_He turned and scanned the hall. He turned and looked at the staircase, his eyes sweeping upward until he saw what she was trying to tell him about. _

_A long line of cloaked figures was walking in single file along the hallway above the staircase. Harry was unable to identify them, although he could see that they weren't Death Eaters._

_He turned back. "Gin-" he stopped. She was gone, and the doors had been thrown open._

_He strode through them, and looked around. The room was set up rather like it had been when he had taken his O.W.L.'s- empty desks sitting in rows, with larger tables bordering the edge. He saw that a few of the tables were occupied. _

_He came to the one sitting where the staff table usually resided. Two young women were sitting at it. To his left sat a blonde girl. She was very pale but for the flush in her cheeks. Her eyes seemed to switch from blue to green, depending on the angle of light. The girl to his right was dark haired. Her skin was olive toned, and her eyes were dark. They both had messy, curly hair, and neither could have been older than sixteen. The table in front of them was littered with crumpled parchment and sweets wrappers. He searched his mind, but could identify neither of them._

_"Where are your friends?" the blonde asked softly._

_He frowned, but didn't respond._

_The brunette appeared to be appraising him with curious eyes. He shifted uncomfortably under her gaze._

_"Who are you two?"_

_The blonde smiled, with the brunette continued to appraise them. "Messengers, I suppose." _

_He nodded, that reason somehow satisfying him._

_The brunette finally spoke. "Do you know what you're supposed to do?"_

_"No."_

_The blonde's smile faded, but she didn't look angry. "You'll find out."_

_"Why did I see Sirius and Cedric?"_

_Neither answered. _

_He frowned. "I'll just be moving on, then."_

_He started to turn away, but stopped when the blonde called out to him. "You have to save them, you know."_

_The brunette spoke. "You're going to lose her."_

_"And we don't know if she can come back."_

_"It's not going to be easy."_

_A clap of thunder interrupted the speaking. Harry looked up to see that the enchanted ceiling was filled to the brim with dark, swirling storm clouds. _

_When he looked down again, the two girls were gone._

_A loud clanging noise made him whirl around. A large grandfather clock now stood behind him. It chimed the hour as the small hand moved to eleven._

_He turned away from it to see Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, Remus, and Tonks. They were standing around what appeared to be the Goblet of Fire, except the flames were a deep orange and were reaching high into the air._

_He blinked, and then was surrounded by darkness. He felt something heavy in his hand, and moved his fingers over it. He decided it was a key. He stepped, stumbled, and fell....._

...into bed. He quickly sat up and peered around the room, deeply unsettled by the dream. He glanced at his nightstand and, groaning, got out of bed.

However, the strange dream was far from forgotten.

* * *

Harry quickly maneuvered into a seat for 'the show', as the students had taken to calling it. All his classmates arrived early and filtered into the closest seat to the teacher's desk. The bell rang out, and the chatter quickly ceased.

A moment later, Professor Seymour entered the room. She smiled at them and dropped her briefcase on her desk. She came around the front and plopped down next to her suitcase, adjusting her plain black robes and tossing her dark braid over her shoulder as she went.

"Good morning, seventh years!"

"Good morning, Professor Seymour!"

She picked up her lesson plan and studied it.

Harry and Ron immediately became annoyed. Hermione looked bored and appalled. She raised her hand. "Professor, your planner is upside down...."

"Oh, no wonder!" The professor giggled girlishly and turned it right side up. She studied it again for a moment, and then nodded, satisfied.

"Class, today we will be practicing dueling! Partner up and go for it!"

Murmurings broke out. Normally, she would tell them to go to a certain page and immediately digress from the subject into a random story from her youth. She hadn't actually taught them yet.

Harry began dueling Hermione just as Ron partnered Neville. "Really," Harry muttered, "I've enjoyed how easy this class is, but it'd be nice to, you know, actually learn something."

Hermione huffed and rolled her eyes. "Well, Harry, it's not like we're at _war_ or anything." Her tone was positively dripping with sarcasm.

Harry grinned. "Even if we were, it's not like I would be playing a part or anything. I'm just a random kid who fell on his forehead at a young age."

"Of course. And you've never faced evil."

"Who, me? Nah."

They looked at each other, faces straight. The corners of Harry's mouth twitched, and that was enough to send them both into laughter.

"What's going on over- oof!" Professor Seymour tripped. Ron caught her easily and set her on her feet.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley, five points to Gryffindor. As I was saying, you two shouldn't be laughing, you should be dueling! This is a classroom, you know."

"No, it really isn't." Ron muttered. Harry bit back a snicker.

The professor sighed. "Obviously, you lot can't focus today. The whole class is dismissed."

Silently, the class packed their bags and moved out of the room. Once they spilled into the hallway, chatter broke out about their odd teacher.

Ron shook her head. "We're not learning a thing from that old bag. What was Dumbledore playing at, hiring a teacher like her at a time like this?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it." Harry shoved his hands into his pockets. "Maybe we should start the D.A. again. I'll talk to Dumbledore."

Hermione nodded. "Well, I'm going to send something off at the Owlery."

Ron got a strange look on his face. "Is it for...." he trailed off, and shook his head. "No, it's none of my business."

Hermione nodded at him. "It is." She reached out as if she were going to touch his arm, but stopped herself. "I'll see you two later."

Harry didn't miss the sorrow and longing on Ron's face as the redheaded boy watched Hermione walk away.

* * *

**Review Responses, Followed With a Hefty Dose of Groveling.**

**Creative Deficit- You were camping? That's awesome. I like the outdoors, but I couldn't do that. Is Ginny going to die? Hmm.... Thank you for the review. It really means a lot. See below for further groveling. I've killed the whole groveling thing, haven't I?**

**Ivanna- (flaming blush) Thank you. Comments like yours are rare and prized. When I got your review it made my day.**

**Pumpkinfrankie- yep, those were your questions. Unless there are two pumpkinfrankies. Which is, of course, entirely possible, especially since the emails are different.....if that's the case, I apologize.**

**Heathz- Thank you! You don't need to br sorry. I'm glad you like it.**

**Okay, I want to apologize. I was in a terrible mood, and I took it out on you guys. I hope I didn't loose anyone. I don't regret that I said something about the lack of reviews, but I regret how I said it. I know you guys are just as busy as I am, it's just that if I don't hear from you guys, I'm clueless. I need them.**

**I'd like to make it clear that I am not obsessive and I understand if you cannot review. I was an ass. **

**That being said, I'd like to make it clear that reviews would be greatly appreciated. I'm still an ass, but at least now I'm polite.**

**Your overly groveling author in dire need of a thesaurus, **

**Merusa**

**---thanks to _Girls' Life Magazine_ and _Dreams _(hyperlinks aren't working, email me if you want the address) for acting as references for dream interpretation.**

**---thanks to Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia for kicking so much Evil Empire butt.**


	10. Chapter 8: La Medianoche

**Harry Potter and the Arch of Hades**

****

**By: Merusa**

**_Chapter 8: La Medianoche (The _****_Midnight)_******

****

Harry had long since discovered that he hated Halloween with a passion.

Halloween could never be good. In his first year, a giant troll had nearly killed his friends. The year of the Chamber of Secrets, the entire school had begun to think he was a psycho on that day. In his third year, a man he himself thought was a psycho had attacked the school, and the year after that, it was announced that he was the fourth champion, and fate had spelled out Cedric's doom. The year of the Umbitch had followed- enough said. Last year, he had been clued in to the fact that Halloween was the night in which has parents died.

Needless to say, Halloween sucked.

It was because of these thoughts that Harry felt quite nauseous when he stepped out of Gryffindor Tower to do his usual Head Boy rounds. It was a few minutes before twelve p.m., and Harry, though still slightly riding the euphoria of their Quidditch victory over Slytherin that morning, prayed that the midnight would arrive soon.

He took a deep breath as he approached the entrance hall, as he had done every time since the dream. The hall was where he had seen the odd line of people, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before he discovered something strange about the staircase.

When he turned the corner and saw the staircase, he stopped dead in his tracks. His mouth fell softly open in a sort of silent scream, as his eyes took in the sight before him. He'd seen the scene before, not as a memory, but in a photograph. The summer before his fifth year- Ron's prefect party. Mad-Eye Moody showing him this, thinking he was giving Harry a real treat....

_"Come here, I've got something that might interest you....Original Order of the __Phoenix__. Found it last night when I was looking for my spare Invisibility cloak, seeing as Podmore hasn't had the manners to return my best one....Thought you might like to see it."_

Harry eyes roved over the staircase. Marlene McKinnon. Frank and Alice Longbottom. Dedalus Diggle. Benjy Fenwik, who they only found bits of. Edgar Bones, Amelia Bones's dead brother. Caradoc Dearbon, who vanished, Gideon Prewett and his brother Fabian, who, now that Harry thought about it, looked strangely like Mrs. Weasley.....and there.His mother, father, and Sirius.

They were frozen in the moment, Lily's hand fixed on her dress, James's head thrown back as if in laughter, and Sirius looking thoughtfully at where the camera would be set up.

The dead members of the Order of the Phoenix were fixed in time.

_Why am I seeing this?_

He looked over the group again. Not one figure had moved.

Then suddenly, there was life.

The apparitions were chatting and laughing happily, and Harry knew that they didn't know where they were. The living members were abruptly there, but they were in colour. Harry figured that they were accidental astral projections of some kind. He looked closely, and saw that two figures were missing: Mad-Eye and Dumbledore.

_"Really, Albus!__ They're too young!"_

Harry turned and saw that the missing two were hovering in a corner, their outlines flickering constantly.

_"Alastor, I know that you have a soft spot for them- we all do, since the attack- but they're seventeen. They have the right the join if they want to, and they wanted to. We can't refuse volunteers, not at a time like this."_

_"You've heard the prophecy," Mad-Eye hissed, "Lily and James's son! We can't let them get involved!"_

_Dumbledore shook his head. "It could just as easily be Alice and Frank. We don't even know if Lily is capable of having children, thanks to the attack."_

_"Albus!__ Alastor! Come over here, he's going to take the picture!"_

Harry watched in fascination as the two men immediately assumed smiles and joined the group. They all posed, smiled, and, together, disappeared.

"What was that?" Harry murmured.

The clock struck midnight.

* * *

Harry slipped quietly into the common room. He wasn't surprised to see Ginny sitting by the fire, curled up in Harry's favorite chair. She had insomnia like he did, and often stayed up late. She smiled at him. "Hullo."

He couldn't summon the energy to smile back. "Hi."

She studied him for a moment before standing up, offering the chair to him wordlessly. He moved and sat down. She perched on the arm of the chair, adjusting her night robe as she went. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Harry shook his head no.

She nodded. "Okay."

They sat in silence for a long time.

* * *

He walked up to the statue. "Livin' La Vida Loca." It ran aside, revealing the moving staircase. He hopped on to the step and rode it up the Headmaster's office. He knocked.

"Come in."

He stepped into the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Dumbledore smiled tiredly at him. "Hello, Harry," he said quietly, "are you ready for your first lesson?"

* * *

**Author's note: All quotes came from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, American first edition.**

**Review Responses:**

**Greek Mione- the dream was supposed to be confusing! Don't worry, though. I get it.**

**Creative Deficit- YESH! HURRAH FOR CRYPTIC DREAMS! Well, as for your Ginny threat, it is a very valid threat. However, I heartily remind you to read a chapter in its entirety before flaming me. Just a friendly, unobtrusive, not-in-any-way-mysteriously-foreshadowing note. Hint Hint. Wink Wink.**

**Nathalie- Hello! Nice to meet you! It's never too late to ask. Harry communicated with his friends by using their owls- like, Ron would owl Harry, Harry would use Pig to send multiple letters rather than just replying to Ron. Hedwig ate plane old owl food, the poor thing- and the mice of the magical world rejoice!**

**Heathz****- Thanks. Sorry for the lack of updates.**

**I'm trying. I really am. Anyone for foreshadowing? Really. If you guess an element of the plot or something that's going to happen, I'll give you a cameo!**

**Merusa**


	11. Chapter 9: Always a Part of Everything

**Harry Potter and the Arch of Hades**

**By: Merusa**

**Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who hasn't given up on this story yet! Love you guys!**

**_Chapter 9: Always a Part of Everything_**

Harry was tired. He hadn't quite realized how much time that his N.E.W.T. classes would take up- nearly double that of the O.W.L.s. The threat of Voldemort loomed closer than ever, punctuated every day by articles in the _Prophet_. Aphrodite Waers questioned Harry and attacked Dumbledore every week. Dumbledore's lessons were physically and emotionally draining. He'd been taught everything from sword fighting to bow skills and dueling with two wands at once. On top of that, other activities required his attention.

Harry groaned and fell into his seat. He slumped into the chair, too tired to move. Ginny fell into the seat next to him, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Harry…that was exhausting."

"It was great, though. You're so good, Gin."

"I can't believe we got through that. That was the first time I've…"

"I know. Me too."

Hermione glanced up at them from her book. "What are you two on about?"

"Quidditch practice," Ron answered for them. He sat down next to Hermione. "It was my week."

"And brother dearest drove us into the ground." Ginny sat up and grabbed a roll of bread, then scarfed it down.

"Hungry, Gin?" Harry teased.

She rolled her eyes at him. He laughed, and tucked into his own supper.

As they ate, an unidentified owl swooped in and dropped a letter onto Harry's potatoes. He made a face and wiped the parchment off, then broke the seal.

"_Harry, please come to my office tomorrow night at __8 o'clock__. I've got something important to discuss with you._

_-Professor Seymour_."

Ginny poked her head over his shoulder and read it. "What does _she_ want?"

Harry swallowed. She hadn't moved her head from his shoulder, and it was distracting.

Hermione frowned at him. "Is everything alright, Harry?"

He gave her a weak smile. "Yeah, everything's fine. Seymour wants me to come to her office tomorrow night, though."

Ron smirked at him. "Maybe she wants to test your wand skills?"

Harry scowled heavily at him. "Ha, ha."

He felt Ginny stiffen next to him. She moved her head from his shoulder, and he immediately felt its absence.

Slowly, almost unconsciously, he moved his under the table and, for the first time, took her hand in his.

He smiled slightly when he heard her give a soft sigh. She squeezed his hand, and glanced up at him. He glanced down, but when their eyes met, they both blushed and looked away. He didn't let go, though.

Ron was too busy stuffing his face to notice, and Hermione pretended not to. She opened her mouth to comment on something else, but was interrupted when Dumbledore stood up at the Staff table, beaming around at the room.

Ginny let her head fall onto his shoulder again. "Oh, what now?" she groaned sarcastically. Harry laughed, and let his head rest on hers for a moment, before moving to pay attention to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore was still beaming. "My lovely students! In these dark times, it is important to keep light of the good that can be found! In keeping with this philosophy- well, I will get straight to the point! The staff has decided that the school will host a student talent show! Information will be posted on the message boards soon. Let us perform!" The Headmaster sat down, almost bouncing in his excitement. The thought of a show seemed to have brought some of his youth back.

Harry felt his mood drop drastically. He looked down at the table.

Ginny moved closer to him. "Hey, what's wrong?" Hermione and Ron were busy talking about the show, and didn't notice the exchange.

He shook his head. "Why a talent show?"

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to."

He gave a short, harsh laugh. "Ginny, it's me. It's a Hogwarts event that includes publicity. Somehow, I'm going to be forced to be a part of it."

She smiled at him. "Well, you can always sing."

He snorted, but the corners of his lips turned up slightly.

She squeezed his hand. "No, I'm serious," she whispered quickly, "when you sang last year...it was really sexy."

Blushing furiously, she turned and jumped into Ron and Hermione's conversation.

Harry stared at her in shock for a moment, and then shook himself. He paused for a moment, wondering at the oddity that was his relationship with Ginny. Even as he turned to join the conversation, he couldn't help but think that maybe he would do the talent show after all.

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**A/N: Yes, it was very, very short. But it was cute, and considerably lighter than the rest of the story. Can you say, calm before the storm?**

**I'm so sorry about the lack of updates. I really could not help it. My workload has gotten a lot easier, so I'll probably start updating again.**

**A huge thank you to Lazteuq, whose review made me realize that I was letting this story die. I'm determined to finish it before Book 6 comes out- so, I'm aiming for the last chapter to be up the first week of July at the very latest. Chapter 13 is where the plot really thickens- and I can't wait to right it.**

**Thanks again to Lazteuq, and also Greek Mione and Creative Deficit, all who reviewed.**

**Come on, people! Make a person's day! Hit that little blue button that says "Go"- you know you want to!**


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